The Lee University Women’s Track & Field team competed at the Georgia Tech Invitational and Virginia Challenge this weekend with seven members recording NCAA Division II provisional qualifying performances.
McKenna Cavanaugh completed the 5000-meter Invite race at the Virginia Challenge with a 20th-place time of 16:34.85. The time beat the provisional time of 17:03.78 and is the No. 24 in the nation this season.
Danielle Horter also met the provisional mark of 36:21.84 in the 10000-meter run with a second-place time of 35.48.84.
Horter did not improve on her No. 22 mark of 35:15.36 from the Lee University – Fast Break Invitational on April 5.
The final Lady Flame to make the trek to the University of Virginia was Megan Adams. She placed 13th in the 5000-meter Run with a time of 17:11.09.
At Georgia Tech, Letlhogonolo Magoro and Lily Hare recorded provisional-qualifying times in the 800-meter Run. Magoro placed 11th at 2:11.48 and Hare was 12th (2:11.67) to finish ahead of the 2:11.87 standard. Magoro’s time is No. 42 among DII runners, while Hare’s is No. 44.
Aria Hawkins placed fourth in the 1500-meter Run with a time of 4:22.16 to surpass the provisional time of 4:31.00. Hawkins’ time is the seventh-best reported this spring. Ashlyn Iliff added another provisional-qualifying performance in the 3000-meter Steeplechase. Her time of 10:44.27 was good for third at Georgia Tech and lands her at No. 19 on the DII performance list.
Liezl Theron cleared 1.70 meters in the high jump to place second. Although the height was good enough to meet the provisional mark of 1.67 meters, it did not improve her standing. She had already hit 1.70 meters at the Lee Invitational on March 22 and she now stands at No. 21 on the qualifying list.
Janay Ryan finished 68th in the 100-meter Dash after stopping the clock at 12.56 seconds. She placed 64th in the 200-meter Dash with a time of 26.07 seconds. Sydney White, Delphine Dah and Jakara Tobler joined Ryan in the 200 where they finished 70th (26.27), 80th (26.66) and 83rd (26.74), respectively. Ryan, Dah and Tobler were also Lee’s representatives in the 400-meter Dash. Ryan was 46th at 58.27 seconds. Dah (59.64) was 56th and Tobler (59.72) finished 57th.
Katie Beam finished almost five seconds behind Hare in the 800 to place 32nd (2:16.46). Hawkins stopped the clock at 2:19.77 for 50th. Zoe Brickley (2:20.50) was 54th, Katie Krueger (2:23.99) placed 63rd and Phoebe Moran’s time of 2:26.76 put her in 71st.
Hare and Magoro were the next two runners behind Hawkins in the 1500. Hare placed 18th (4:32.51) and Magoro (4:38.38) was 27th. Brickley completed the circuit at 4:44.56 for 45th, Krueger placed 49th (4:47.88), Beam came in 51st (4:48.76) and Moran was 62nd (4:54.46).
Paige Patterson and Julia Halterman competed in the 5000-meter Run. Patterson finished 44th (18:39.97) and Halterman was close behind in 46th (18:46.08).
Hannah Wright led three other Lady Flames in the 100-meter Hurdles. Wright was first across the finish line at 14.31 seconds to finish 12th overall. Theron was 34th (15.34), Lily Brown placed 41st (15.54) and White was 50th (16.85). In the 400-meter Hurdles, Wright was 22nd at 1:04.60. Brown placed 27th (1:05.38) and Iliff was 35th (1:08.21).
White, Ryan, Wright and Carissa Hall combined to finish 13th in the 4x100-meter Relay with a time of 47.31 seconds.
Devon Jackett joined Theron in the High Jump where she cleared 1.60 meters to finish 17th. Brynn Depinet placed 16th with a 3.50-meter clearance in the Pole Vault. Nicole Counter was 20th at 3.35 meters.
Hall was Lee’s lone representative in the Long Jump and Triple Jump. She finished 12th with a long jump of 5.73 meters and was 25th after covering 11.27 meters in the triple.
Samara Brinks posted a mark of 11.06 meters to finish 29th in the Shot Put. White was 31st with a measurement of 10.57 meters. Olivia Davidson placed 14th in the Javelin with a throw of 34.36 meters.
The Lady Flames are scheduled to have this week off before traveling to Montevallo, Alabama, for the Gulf South Conference Championships May 2-4.
The Lee University Men’s Track & Field team also earned seven competing at the Georgia Tech Invitational and Virginia Challenge this weekend.
Matthew Fowler was the only member of the men’s team to go to the Virginia Challenge where he finished eighth in the 10000-meter Run. His time of 29:29.13 met the provisional time of 30:19.08 and is now No. 23 among DII athletes this season.
Roberto Fajardo crossed the finish line of the 800-meter Run at 1:49.35 to claim second place. His time is the fourth-best reported this year. He doubled-up with another provisional time in the 1500-meter Run. He finished first in the race at 3:40.98 to claim the No. 3 time on the performance list. Jacob Hatcher joined him at No. 15 on the list with a fifth-place time of 3:46.65.
At Georgia Tech, Justin Steele and Nokia Masengu reached the needed time of 47.74 seconds in the 400-meter Dash. Steele placed seventh (46.80) and Masengu was 17th (47.48) at the meet and stand at eighth and 24th, respectively, in this year’s DII performance list.
Owen Pearce completed the 3000-meter Steeplechase at 9:10.47 to finish eighth at the meet and meet the provisional time of 9:12.31. His time is good for No. 33 among DII runners this season.
Cale Kassen placed third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.67 seconds. The time met the standard of 14.44 seconds but was not enough to improve his standing. His best time this season was 13.53 at the Lee University – Fast Break Invitational, which is No. 2 in the country.
Kassen did the same in the High Jump. He finished second at Georgia Tech with a clearance of 2.04 meters. That result met the standard of 2.04 meters, but it was 0.03 meters shy of his mark at the Kennesaw State Invitational on March 29.
Doniven Jackson was the first of four Flames to cross the finish line of the 100-meter Dash. He finished 27th overall at 10.77 seconds. Luke Blanchard (11.08) was 60th, Cameron Stine finished 80th (11.39) and Timothy Doolittle was 91st (11.69). The 4x100-meter Relay team of Blanchard, Steele, Aiden Shaw and Jackson claimed fifth with a combined time of 41.17 seconds.
Shaw was the top Lee finisher in the 200-meter Dash with a time of 21.80 seconds. Jackson was 26th (21.93) with Masengu right behind in 27th (21.96). Niquaine Henry stopped the clock at 22.17 (35th), Ian Newman finished 46th (22.51) and Blanchard (22.80) was 57th.
Shaw, Newman and Isaac Iosia joined Steele and Masengu in the 400. Shaw placed 23rd (47.88), while Newman was 34th (48.64) and Iosia finished 64th (52.98).
Titus Lagat posted a time of 1:51.88 (13th) in the 800 and Hatcher was 31st (1:54.57). Pearce was 36th (1:55.05) with Caleb Guthery right behind at 1:55.21 (37th). Ryan Lovelace completed the race at 1:58.67 for 71st. Lovelace was 11th in the 1500 with a time of 3:49.68 and Guthery finished 22nd with a time of 3:53.20.
Jon Fielding Stogner, Ezekiel Harless and Aaron Himes all finished in the top 21 of the 5000-meter Run. Stogner was fourth overall at 14:24.96. Harless placed 15th (14:28.26) and Himes was 21st (14:55.82). Tal Old finished 33rd in the Steeplechase. He completed the race at 10:10.59.
The Flames had three other runners behind Kassen in the 110 Hurdles. Stine placed 24th at 15.42 seconds, Iosia finished 30th (16.01) and Caleb Long was 36th (17.11). Henry completed the 400 Hurdles in 53.78 seconds for 14th place.
Kassen covered 7.24 meters to place fourth in the Long Jump. Camden Williams finished eighth with a throw of 15.32 meters in the Shot Put. He was also seventh following a mark of 47.52 meters in the Discus. Braxton Philpott’s mark of 41.58 meters put him at No. 21 in the Discus. With a throw of 56.06 meters, Long finished sixth in the Javelin. Eli Brooks placed 12th with a mark of 49.06 meters and Myles Mann was 15th with a measurement of 44.98 meters.
The Flames are scheduled to have this week off before traveling to Montevallo, Alabama, for the Gulf South Conference Championships May 2-4.